Snoop Dogg Lights Up 'Merry Jane,' A Marijuana Lifestyle Content Site

Rapper-turned-tech-investor Calvin Broadus, better known as Snoop Dogg, is now a startup founder, too: he's launching Merry Jane, a marijuana lifestyle site that he said will be "the encyclopedia to the cannabis world."

Snoop laid out plans for Merry Jane on stage Monday at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference: the site will be a gathering place for everyone from those curious about cannabis to seasoned smokers and will feature things like original video content, including a series called "Deflowered," where people get high and describe a new experience they had while enjoying marijuana.

Snoop Dogg's new weed lifestyle site will hopefully help people "come out of the closet" as marijuana fans, he said Monday. (Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)

As a budding venture capitalist, Snoop has already dabbled in investing in a few startups, usually with a focus on marijuana. His fund is called Casa Verde Capital and invested earlier this year in Eaze, an on-demand weed startup. He as also invested alongside actor Jared Leto in Robinhood, a free stock trading platform.

Snoop said he pursues tech investing because it's a "challenge" and that he goes after weed-related companies because it's a topic he knows well -- and loves. "I enjoy it for medical reasons and it’s a peace situation for me," he said. "I always see beautiful things around me."

The rapper also added that he hopes sites and communities like Merry Jane can help people "come out of the closet" about their marijuana use. "We'd be a better world if everyone comes out of the closet and admits they like to smoke," he said. "My name is Snoop Dogg, and I’m a stoner."

Merry Jane will launch in October and is currently accepting a small number of beta users -- 420 new users per day, naturally.

I'm a San Francisco-based reporter for Forbes' tech team. I cover technology news and write about how tech affects the people who create it, use it or live in a place full of it. Before Forbes, I covered tech culture for the San Francisco Chronicle and cut my teeth as a brea...